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HSAR 252: Roman Architecture

Paper Topics: Discovering the Roman Provinces and Designing a Roman City. Professor Kleiner presents the three options for the course's term paper, which fall into two main categories: a research paper or a project to design a Roman city. For the research paper, she suggests cities and monuments not covered or mentioned briefly in the lectures, which embody some of the themes and issues raised in the course. Such topics include, in the Eastern Empire, the Roman cities of Corinth and Gerasa (Jerash), the Library of Celsus at Ephesus, and the Temple of Bel and the tower tombs at Palmyra. In the West, possible subjects are the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum; funerary architecture in Pompeii; a Roman villa at Fishbourne; Roman baths at Bath; and the private houses at Vaison-la-Romaine. Students may also study a site or monument of their choice, provided that the topic is pre-approved by Professor Kleiner. The lecture concludes with an overview of the "Design a Roman City" option, in which students draw or generate plans and other representations of a hypothetical Roman city of 10,000 inhabitants, accompanied by a paper supporting their proposal.

Paper Topics: Discovering the Roman Provinces and Designing a Roman City

Time Lecture Chapters
[00:00:00] 1. Introduction to the Term Paper: Requirements and Resources
[00:04:36] 2. Option 1: Research Paper and Corinth
[00:15:21] 3. The Library of Celsus at Ephesus
[00:23:28] 4. Gerasa and Palmyra
[00:37:24] 5. The Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum and the Getty Villa
[00:46:48] 6. Further Research Options in England, Israel, Italy, and France
[00:55:57] 7. Option 2: Select a Building, Select a Theme
[00:57:15] 8. Tower Tombs at Palmyra
[00:58:19] 9. Option 3: Design Your Own Roman City

Go to the Course Home or watch other lectures:

Lecture 01 - Introduction to Roman Architecture
Lecture 02 - It Takes a City: The Founding of Rome and the Beginnings of Urbanism in Italy
Lecture 03 - Technology and Revolution in Roman Architecture
Lecture 04 - Civic Life Interrupted: Nightmare and Destiny on August 24, A.D. 79
Lecture 05 - Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous: Houses and Villas at Pompeii
Lecture 06 - Habitats at Herculaneum and Early Roman Interior Decoration
Lecture 07 - Gilding the Lily: Painting Palaces and Villas in the First Century A.D.
Lecture 08 - Exploring Special Subjects on Pompeian Walls
Lecture 09 - From Brick to Marble: Augustus Assembles Rome
Lecture 10 - Accessing Afterlife: Tombs of Roman Aristocrats, Freedmen, and Slaves
Lecture 11 - Notorious Nero and His Amazing Architectural Legacy
Lecture 12 - The Creation of an Icon: The Colosseum and Contemporary Architecture in Rome
Lecture 13 - The Prince and the Palace: Human Made Divine on the Palatine Hill
Lecture 14 - The Mother of All Forums: Civic Architecture in Rome under Trajan
Lecture 15 - Rome and a Villa: Hadrian's Pantheon and Tivoli Retreat
Lecture 16 - The Roman Way of Life and Death at Ostia, the Port of Rome
Lecture 17 - Bigger Is Better: The Baths of Caracalla and Other Second- and Third-Century Buildings in Rome
Lecture 18 - Hometown Boy: Honoring an Emperor's Roots in Roman North Africa
Lecture 19 - Baroque Extravaganzas: Rock Tombs, Fountains, and Sanctuaries in Jordan, Lebanon, and Libya
Lecture 20 - Roman Wine in Greek Bottles: The Rebirth of Athens
Lecture 21 - Making Mini Romes on the Western Frontier
Lecture 22 - Rome Redux: The Tetrarchic Renaissance
Lecture 23 - Rome of Constantine and a New Rome
Paper Topics: Discovering the Roman Provinces and Designing a Roman City